Thoughtless
by allyaustin
Summary: Dallas, has been everything Ally's ever wanted. When they head off to start their lives together, everything seems perfect. Then suddenly the couple is forced. Feeling lonely and in need of comfort, Ally turns to her roommate, a local rock star named Austin Moon. He's purely a friend that she can lean on and then one night everything changes...and nothing will ever be the same.
1. Meetings

**Full Summary: For almost two years now, Ally's boyfriend, Dallas****, has been everything she's ever wanted: loving, tender and endlessly devoted to her. When they head off to a new city to start their lives together, Dallas at his dream job and Ally at a top-notch university, everything seems perfect. Then an unforeseen obligation forces the happy couple apart. ****Feeling lonely, confused, and in need of comfort, Ally turns to an unexpected source—a local rock star named Austin Moon****. At first, he's purely a friend that she can lean on, but as her loneliness grows, so does their relationship. And then one night everything changes...and none of them will ever be the same.  
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**A/N: Hi! Okay so before you read. I need to lay some stuff down. First, this story is based merely off the book, **_Thoughtless_**, by S.C. Stephens. All her work. Copyright belongs to her. I made a few changes to fit in with Austin and Ally but it's still very ooc. I loved this book a lot! Ally...may end up being selfish. I think you're gonna drool over Austin and well Dallas is an awesome Australian dude. Plus, a band?! Hell yeah. Okay, I'm blabbering but enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own a thing. All rights go to the great S.C. Stephens. Don't own Austin and Ally either!**

**Au: Ally isn't interested in music at all..well as a pursuing thing. They're in their twenties and Ally is the only one in college.**

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_Ally_

It was the longest drive I had ever been on. That really wasn't saying a whole lot, since I had never driven more than sixty miles away from my home town. Still, by anyone's standards the drive was absurdly long. According to MapQuest, it was roughly twelve hours and thirteen minutes long. I'm assuming that's if you're super human and never need a pit stop, of course.

My boyfriend and I were driving away from Athens, Ohio. I had been born and raised there, along with every other member of my family. It was never discussed among our little foursome, but it was a known-from-birth fact, that my sister and I would be attending and graduating Ohio University. Therefore, it had been a terrible family tragedy, when a few months ago, during my second year there, I'd made plans to transfer out in the fall. What had shocked them even more, if that were possible, was the fact that I was transferring nearly eight hundred miles away to Miami, more specifically, the University of Miami. I had landed a pretty nice scholarship though, and that had definitely helped to sway my parents. Helped, but only a little. Family gatherings were going to be...colorful from now on.

The reason for my transfer was sitting beside me, driving us away in his beat-up Honda. I looked over at him and smiled. Dallas Matthews. He was beautiful. I know, it's not the manliest way to describe a guy, but in my head, it was the adjective I used most often and it fit him to a tee. He was originally from a small town in Queensland, Australia, and a lifetime spent in the water at that exotic locale had left him tan and muscular, but not in a beefy kind of way. No, a more natural, proportioned, athletic way. He wasn't overly tall for a guy, but he was taller than me, even when I wore heels, and that was enough. His hair was a dark, dark brown and he liked to have it lightly styled into chunky, but orderly pieces, which I loved to do for him and he adoringly let me, sighing and complaining the whole while that he was just going to shave it off one day. He loved it though.

His eyes were warm and a deep, dark brown and were currently turned in my direction to sparkle at me. "Hey, babe. Not too much longer now, maybe a couple of hours." The way his accent slid over his words was curiously intoxicating to me. It never ceased to bring me some small sliver of joy, as weird as that was.

Luckily for me, Dallas had an Aunt who, three years ago, had been offered a position at Ohio U and moved over here. Dallas, being the sweetheart that he is, had decided to come with her, and help her get settled. Having loved being in the States for a year back in high school, it didn't take him long to decide to transfer to Miami U, which to my parents, up until he had swept me away that is, made him the ideal candidate for my affections. I sighed and hoped they got over this college thing quickly.

Thinking I was sighing at his statement, Dallas added, "I know you're tired, Ally. We'll just be a minute at Pete's and then we can go home and crash."

I nodded and closed my eyes.

Pete's was apparently the name of the popular bar where our new roommate, Austin Moon, was a local rock star. Though we were heading off to be his new permanent house guests, I didn't know much about him. I knew that while doing his junior year of high school abroad, Dallas had stayed with Austin and his parents, and I knew that Austin played in a band. Yep, I knew two whole facts about our mysterious new roomie.

I opened my eyes and stared out the dark side window, watching the thick, palm trees blur past me, an odd orange glow cast upon them from the numerous streetlamps on the freeway. We had finally made it over the last pass; I had been worried for a moment there that Dallas' old car wouldn't be able to make it. We were currently zigzagging past beaches, multiple pedestrians and vast open skies.

Even in the dark of night, I could tell it was beautiful here. I could already see a new life opening up for me in this sunshine state.

Our departure from my comfortable life in Athens had started several months ago, with Dallas's impending graduation from Ohio U. He was brilliant, and I wasn't the only one who thought so. Gifted, is how his professors commonly referred to him. They had written him numerous letters of recommendation and Dallas had started applying for jobs everywhere.

I couldn't bear the thought of him leaving, even if only for two years until I finished school, so I applied to Universities and Colleges everywhere that Dallas applied for a job or internship. My sister, Anna, thought that was odd. She wasn't exactly the type to go traipsing around the Country after a guy, not even an attractive one like Dallas. But I couldn't stop myself. I could not bear to be without that boy's goofy grin.

Of course, being so brilliant, he landed his dream internship in Miami. He was going to work for a company that, according to Dallas, was one of the leading advertising agencies in the world, and was responsible for coming up with a certain golden-arched fast-food chain's world renowned jingle. He would repeat that fact to anyone who would listen, and he said it with an odd look of reverence, like they had invented air, or something. Apparently, their internships are really rare. And not just in how many a year they offer, but also in how involved they allow their interns to be with projects. Dallas would immediately be a member of the team, not just a fetching boy. He had been practically giddy in his excitement to leave for Miami.

I had been a panicky mess. I had downed a half bottle of Pepto daily, until I'd finally received my acceptance for transfer to the University of Miami. Perfect! Then I somehow managed to swing a scholarship that paid for nearly all of my tuition (I wasn't Dallas's level of brilliance, but I wasn't a dummy either). Double Perfect! The fact that Dallas actually knew people in that particular city, and that one of them had an extra room for us, at a fraction of the rate we were expecting to pay, well, it made the whole affair seem like it was fated to be.

I smiled as I watched the names of roads, parks and small towns fly by us. We were coming upon towns more frequently now, starting to move away from the dark palm trees that I could no longer see behind us in the darkness. Rain spattered our window as we approached a larger city with a sign directing us towards Miami. We were getting closer. Our new life would start soon. I knew virtually nothing of our new city, but I would get to figure it all out with Dallas by my side. I reached over to grab his hand and he smiled softly at me.

Dallas had graduated a week ago with his double-major in Business Economics and Marketing (the hunky dork) and we'd packed up to leave. His new job required him to be there this coming Monday. My parents had not been thrilled about the all-too-soon separation. Once they had grudgingly accepted my decision to leave, they had been looking forward to having me for one last summer. While I would miss them terribly, Dallas and I had been living apart, he at his Aunt's and me with my parent's, for nearly two achingly long years and I was eager to advance our relationship. I had tried to keep a solemn face while kissing them all goodbye, but on the inside, I had been glowing with the thought of finally being on our own.

The only part of the move I had protested, vehemently, was driving there. A few hours in a plane versus days in a cramped car...it really was a no brainer to me. But Dallas had some odd attachment to his vehicle and refused to leave it behind. I suppose it would be convenient to have a car in Miami, but I got a good half day of sulking out of it anyway. After that, he just made the trip too much fun to complain anymore, and of course, he had found numerous ways to make his car quite...comfortable. There were a couple of rest stops that are now forever etched in my fondest memories.

I smiled widely at that thought and bit my lip, once again excited at the very idea of a place of our own. The ride had been entertaining and full of many happy memories, but we had driven straight through. Even in my happiness, I was bone-tired. And even though Dallas had managed to make his car surprisingly cozy, it was still a car, and I was dreaming of an actual bed. My smile turned into a contented sigh when the lights of Miami finally showed themselves to us.

Dallas had gotten directions on the way over and we easily found Pete's bar. He managed to find an empty space in the 'it's Friday night, let's go drink' jammed-full parking lot and nimbly pulled the car in. The second the engine shut off, I practically jumped out of the door and stretched for a solid minute. Dallas chuckled at me, but did the same. Grabbing each other's hands, we made our way to the open front doors. We were later than we had expected to be, and the band was already playing, their music drifting out to us in the lot. We walked inside the doors and Dallas scanned the room quickly. He pointed out a really big guy leaning against the side wall, watching the audience, who were mostly watching the band, and we started making our way through the packed room to him.

On the way over, I looked up at the stage to the four guys performing there. They all looked to be around my age, in their early twenties. Their music was fast, driving rock and the singer's voice was perfectly matched to the style, rough, yet really sexy. Huh, they're pretty good, I thought idly, while Dallas expertly navigated us through a sea of easy-to-bump-into feet and elbows.

I couldn't help but notice the lead singer first. No one would be able to overlook him, he was drop-dead gorgeous. He had intense eyes that were busy scanning the crowd of adoring women clustered around the front of the stage. His light, dark-blonde hair full of strands all over his head. It was slightly longer on the top with shorter, shaggy layers all the way around and he was running his hand through it in a rather adorable way. As Anna would say, he had "bedroom hair." Well, okay, she would use a cruder adjective, my sister could be a little crass, but it was the kind of style that looked like he had just been ravished in the back room. I blushed as it occurred to me that maybe he had been... Anyway, it was alarmingly attractive on him. Not everyone could pull off that kind of look.

His clothes were surprisingly basic, like he knew he didn't have to accessorize his looks. His shirt was just a basic gray tee, with the long sleeves pushed back to the elbow. It was just tight enough to hint at what was most definitely a fabulous body underneath. He wore perfectly lived-in black jeans with black, heavy boots. Simple, yet stunning. He looked like a rock god.

Even with all that, the most amazing part of him, besides his alluring voice, was his unbelievably sexy smile. He only showed glimpses of it through the words he was singing, but it was enough. A smooth half-smile here and there - flirting with the crowd. Utterly charming.

He was downright sexy. Unfortunately, he knew it.

He met eyes with every one of his adoring "fans." They went crazy as his gaze passed over them. Now that I was looking closer, his half-smiles were disconcertingly seductive. His eyes were practically undressing each and every one of them. My sister also had a choice turn-of-phrase for those kinds of eyes.

Watching him seduce the entire cluster of female groupies was making me blush uncomfortably, and I shifted my focus to the remaining three members.

The two guys on either side of the singer were so similar, that they had to be related, probably brothers. They seemed about the same size, slightly shorter than the singer, and thinner, not quite as...well built. They had the exact same slim nose and thin lips. One played lead guitar, one played bass guitar, and they were both passably cute. Possibly, if I had seen them first, and not the singer, I would have thought them more attractive.

The lead guitarist was wearing khaki shorts and a black t-shirt featuring the name and logo of a band I didn't know. His hair was dark brown. He played the difficult sounding piece with a look of concentration on his face, his light eyes flicking over the crowd every once and awhile, then back down to his hands.

His equally light-eyed, dark-haired relative, wore his hair a little longer, and tucked behind his ears. He was also wearing shorts and his t-shirt made me chuckle a little; it simply read, "I'm with the band". He played the bass with an almost bored expression on his face and kept looking over to the guitarist, who could so easily be his twin. I got the impression he would rather be playing that instrument.

The final guy was tucked behind the drums, so I couldn't see much of him. I was just thankful that he had clothes on at all, since many drummers felt the need to be nearly naked when they played. But he had the kindest face in the world, with big, blue eyes and sorta Justin Bieber flip styled hair which was ginger. While scanning the crowd he had a big grin on his face.

Dallas had only mentioned that our new roommate, Austin, was in this band. He had never elaborated on which member that might be. I hoped it was the big, teddy bear looking guy in the back. He seemed like he'd be easy going.

Dallas had finally worked us through the crowd to the burly man. He'd noticed us approaching and was smiling broadly at Dallas. "G'Day, mate! Glad to see ya again," he yelled over the music, trying to mimic Dallas' accent, and butchering it horribly.

I smiled to myself. Everyone always tried to sound like him, once they heard him speak. Usually, nobody pulled it off well. It was just one of those accents that sounded phony unless you had lived there. Dallas was always trying to get me to use it, it highly amused him when people tried, but I knew I couldn't, so I didn't even try. No point in making myself look stupid.

"Hey, Trent, long time, no see." Dallas' year here as an exchange student back in high school had introduced him to Austin. Since Trent looked about Dallas' age, I assumed that was how he knew him too. I smiled wider as they gave each other a swift "guy" hug.

Trent wasn't exactly a big guy but he was big. Does that make sense? He definitely had a body, his red shirt barely containing his muscles. His hair was sorta of covered in what one would call a small afro and if he hadn't been grinning, I would never have dared to approach him. There was just an air of menace about him, which, now that I noticed the name of the bar across his shirt, seemed appropriate. He obviously worked as a bouncer here.

Trent leaned in closer to us, so he didn't have to talk quite so loud. "Austin told me you were coming in tonight. Staying with him, huh?" He looked over at me standing beside Dallas. "This your girl?" he asked, before Dallas could answer his first question.

"Yeah, this is Ally, Ally Dawson." Dallas smiled over at me. I loved the way his accent slid over my name. "Ally, this is Trent. He and I were mates in school."

"Hello." I smiled slightly at him, not knowing what else to do.

I hated meeting people for the first time. It always made me a little uncomfortable and very self-conscious. I didn't feel like I was anything special to look at. Not that I was unattractive, just nothing special. My ombre hair was long and, thankfully, thick, with a slight curl to it. My eyes were hazel and I'd been told expressive (which in my head, always translated to overly large). My height was in the middle for a girl, 5'2", and I was pretty lean, thanks to running track in school. But overall, I felt very average.

Trent nodded back at me and looked over to talk to Dallas again. "Anyway, Austin had to start his set, but he left your key with me in case you guys didn't want to stay...you know, long drive and all." He reached in his jeans pocket and handed the key over to Dallas.

That was sure nice of Austin. I was dead tired, and really just wanted to get settled in, then sleep for about two days straight. I really didn't want to have to wait for who knows how long a "set" lasted to get our key. I glanced back over to the band again. The singer was still mentally undressing every woman he spotted. Occasionally, he would suck in a breath through his teeth, exaggerating the sound in a way that was almost intimate. He leaned over the microphone and reached out a hand to get closer to his adoring fans, making them squeal in delight. Most of the men in the bar were farther back, but some boyfriends had stuck close to their girls. Those men eyed the singer with decided distaste. I couldn't help but think that some day he was going to get his ass seriously kicked.

More and more I believed the nice looking guy in the back was Dallas' "mate." The drummer just seemed like the good-natured, carefree type of person that he would easily bond with. Dallas was taking a minute to chat with Trent, asking him about what he was up to now. When they were finished catching up, we said our goodbyes.

"Ready to go?" Dallas asked, knowing how tired I was.

"Oh, yes," I said, aching for an actual bed. Thankfully, the last tenant had left some furniture behind.

Dallas laughed a little and then looked over to the band. I watched him, waiting to catch his friend's eye. He liked having light facial hair along his jaw line and upper lip. Not a lot, and not heavy, he just looked like someone who had been on a long camping trip. It made his could-be baby face seem older, more rugged. It was soft though and felt nice when he nuzzled my neck. It was also incredibly sexy. I realized I was ready to leave for more than one reason.

Still intently watching Dallas, I noticed him raise the hand clutching the key and nod his chin up. Apparently he had finally gotten Austin's eye, and signaled to him that we were heading home. I was so lost in my dreamy thoughts that I'd forgotten to watch who he signaled. I still wasn't entirely sure which one he was. I glanced over, but none of the four were looking our way.

As we started to make our way back to the door, I looked over to Dallas. "Which one is Austin anyway?"

"Huh? Oh, I guess I never really explained that, did I?" He nodded back to the band. "He's the singer."

My heart dropped a little. Of course he was. I stopped and looked back, and Dallas stopped with me, watching the band as well. Sometime while we had been walking away, the song had changed. It wasn't quite so rock; the beat was slower and Austin's voice was lower and smoother, sexier, if that were possible. But that wasn't what made me stop and listen.

It was the words. They were beautiful, heartbreaking even. It was a poetic declaration of love and loss, insecurity and even death. Of wanting someone left behind, to remember him as a good person, a person worthy of being missed. The insipid girls, who had doubled in size, were still clamoring for his attention. They didn't even seem to recognize the change of the music's tone. Austin was completely different though. Both hands were now curled around the microphone and he looked out over the crowd, his eyes unfocused, absorbed in the music. His whole body was lost to the words; they seemed to come from deep in his soul. Where the other song had just been fun, this one was personal; it obviously meant something to him. He stopped my breath.

"Wow," I stated when my breathing started back up. "He's...amazing."

Dallas nodded over to the stage. "Yeah, he's always been really good at this. Even his band in school was good."

I suddenly wished we could stay all night, but Dallas was every bit as tired as I was, maybe more so, since he had done the majority of the driving. "Let's go home." I smiled up at him, loving the way that sounded.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me through the rest of the crowd. I glanced back at Austin one last time before we stepped out the door. Surprisingly, he was looking straight at me. That perfect face focused solely at me, made me shiver a little. His powerful song still played on and again, I wished I could stay to hear the end.

He was so different now than the first time I had noticed him. In that first glance he had just seemed so...sensual. Everything about him had screamed, I'm going to take you right here and make you forget your own name. But now he appeared deep, soulful even. Maybe my first impression was wrong? Maybe Austin was someone worth getting to know better?

Living with him was going to be...interesting.

Dallas found our new place easily; it wasn't terribly far from the bar. The house was on a smaller side street, tightly crammed to the houses next to it. The street itself so completely lined with vehicles, it was practically a one-way street. The driveway looked just big enough for two cars, so Dallas pulled into the spot farthest from the front door.

Dallas grabbed three of our bags from the back seat while I grabbed the remaining two, then we made our way inside. It was small, but charming. The entrance had hooks for jackets, all of them empty, and a half-moon table, where Dallas tossed his keys. To our left, was a short hallway ending in a door. A bathroom maybe? Off that hallway, I could just make out a countertop. Must be the kitchen. Directly in front of us, was the living room, with an overly large television set being the most prominent feature. Boys will be boys. And to our right, was a set of stairs that curled around to the top floor.

We followed the stairs up and stopped at a set of three doors. Dallas opened the right door - the exceedingly messy bed and an older looking guitar propped in the corner, gave it away as Austin's room. He shut the door and tried the middle one, laughing a little at our guessing game. Ah, he had found the bathroom. That left door number three. Smiling, he opened it wide for us. I started to look around, but didn't get much further than the impressively large, queen-sized bed in the middle of the wall. Not one to miss an opportunity, I grabbed Dallas' shirt and pulled him suggestively to that bed.

Alone time didn't happen very often, we were usually surrounded by so many people - his Aunt, my sister, or ugh...my parents. It was cherished, and one thing I had quickly realized upon inspecting our tiny new home was that we weren't going to be quite as alone here as I had hoped, especially upstairs; I could tell the walls were very thin, not much in the way of privacy. So we threw our bags in the corner of the small room and took advantage of the fact that our roommate had a night job. The rest of our stuff could wait to be brought in the house. Some things were just too important.

I awoke early the next morning, still groggy from days of traveling, but refreshed. Dallas was stretched out on his side of the bed and looked entirely too peaceful to wake. A small thrill passed through me at waking up next to him. We rarely were able to spend an entire night together, but now we would get every night. Careful to not disturb him, I stood and made my way to the hall.

Our door looked directly across to Austin's room and his door was slightly cracked. The bathroom was in-between the two small rooms and the door was shut. My family never had it closed unless someone was in there. It was bright enough outside now, that no light would be needed in there. Do I knock? I didn't want to feel like an idiot, knocking on my own door, but I hadn't been introduced to Austin yet, and walking in on him was not the way I wanted to meet him...not that I ever did want to walk in on him. I glanced over to his door and listened until I thought a vein might burst. I thought I could hear light breathing coming from his room, but really, I could have been hearing my own. I hadn't heard him come in last night, but he seemed like the type to stay out 'til four and sleep in 'til two, so I took a chance and turned the knob.

Relief washed through me that the room was empty. Relief and the intense desire to wash the travel grime from my body. Making sure the door was securely locked (I didn't need Austin walking in on me either), I turned on the shower. Last night, I had hastily scrounged through my stuff for my pajamas before passing out from exhaustion. Now, I stripped off my sleep pants and tank top and stepped into the near-scalding water. It was heaven. I suddenly wished Dallas was awake. I wished he was in here with me. He had the nicest body and it was even more so, streaming with water. But then I remembered how dreadfully tired he'd looked last night. Hmmm...maybe another time.

I relaxed into the hot water and sighed. I hadn't remembered shampoo in my hurry to the bathroom, but luckily there was a bar of soap in the shower. Not the greatest way to wash my hair, but I wasn't comfortable using Austin's expensive looking stuff. I luxuriated under the hot steam for a lot longer than I should have, considering the other people who probably wanted a tiny bit of warm water for themselves. I couldn't help it - it just felt so good to be clean again.

Finally, I shut the water off and dried away the droplets with the only available towel. It was dreadfully thin and slightly too small; I would need to remember my big, comfy towel next time. Hastily wrapping it around me, I braced myself for the cooler hallway air and opened the door. I had forgotten all of my toiletries, not to mention a change of clothes, in my desire to be clean. I was concentrating on remembering which bag in our chaotic pile held my stuff, when I noticed that Austin's door was now open...and occupied.

He was standing in his doorway, yawning lazily and scratching his bare chest. Apparently, he preferred sleeping in just his boxer shorts. I couldn't help but to be momentarily distracted by the sight of him. A nights rest hadn't affected his messy hair negatively at all; it looked downright delicious, going every which way. His body was mostly taking up my attention however. It was as fabulous as I had suspected. Where Dallas' body was great, Austin's was just ridiculous. He was tall, maybe a good half-foot taller than Dallas and his muscles were long and lean, like a runner's, I suppose. And they were very clearly defined. I could have taken a marker and etched every single line.

He was, well...hot.

His eyes, an impossibly deep shade of brown, sparkled at me, as he cocked his head slightly to the side in a distractingly charming way. "You must be Ally." His voice was low and slightly husky from just waking up.

Embarrassment flashed through me as I realized that our first meeting wasn't that far from how I feared it would be. At least we were both dressed, sort of. Mentally chastising myself for not putting the tank top and lounge pants I had slept in back on before leaving the bathroom, I awkwardly extended a hand to him in some feeble attempt at formality.

I mumbled, "Yes...hi."

An adorable half-smile appeared on his face as he shook my hand. He seemed to find great humor in my reaction. He also didn't seem bothered in the slightest that he was hardly dressed decently, and neither was I. I felt a blush coming and desperately wanted to flee to my room. I had no idea how to politely get out of this odd meeting though.

"You're Austin?" Obviously he was...only three of us were living here.

"Mmmm..." He nodded in acknowledgement, still watching me closely. A little closer than I was comfortable having a strange man stare at me while I was half naked.

"Sorry about the water. I think I used all of the hot side." I turned to find our doorknob, hoping he would take the hint.

"No problem, I'll just use it tonight, before I leave."

I wondered briefly where he was going, but instead mumbled, "See you later then," and dashed back into my room. I thought I heard a soft chuckle behind me as I closed the door.

Well, that was mortifying. I guess it could have gone worse. Ugh, that's exactly why I hate meeting people for the first time. I tend to come out of those meetings looking like an idiot, and today was no exception. Dallas claimed our first meeting had been endearing. My memory attached a different word to it. I dreaded just how often I was going to have to do this in the coming months. At least for those meetings, I would have more clothes on...I hoped.

I laid my head back against the closed door and waited for the embarrassment to fade.

"You okay?" Dallas's clear, accented voice poked through my thoughts. I cracked my eyes open and saw him propped up on his elbow, watching me curiously. He still looked tired and I hoped I hadn't awoken him.

"Just meeting our new roommate," I explained sullenly.

Dallas knew me so well, that he wasn't too surprised at my reaction over something so small. He knew how embarrassed I would be, over running into someone I didn't know in only a thin towel.

"Ah, come here." He opened his arms to me and I eagerly crawled back into bed.

I snuggled my back deeply into his warm, comforting embrace and his arms tightly cinched around me, pulling me close. He tenderly kissed my damp head and then let out a long sigh. "Are you sure about this, Ally?"

I reached back and playfully smacked him on the shoulder. "We're already here. Isn't it a little late for that?" I moved so I could look at his face. "I am NOT driving back," I teased him.

He smiled a little, but his face was serious. "I know what you gave up for me by coming here - your family, your home. I'm not blind, I know you miss it. I just want to make sure that this is worth it for you?"

I placed my hand gently on his cheek. "Don't. Don't ever question that. Of course I miss my family, miss them terribly. But you are worth it, you're worth anything." My fingers gently stroked his cheek. "I love you. I want to be where you are."

He smiled in earnest. "Forgive me, for being a little sappy here, but you...are my heart. I love you too." And then he kissed me deeply and started to un-wrap the suddenly bulky towel from around my waist.

I had to remind myself over and over that the walls were very thin...

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**I want to advance on forward with this story. Just for you guys. Reviews would be great! Let me know what you think about everyone so far. Let it out.**


	2. The D Bags

A/N: Whew...one month late. Sorry :/ Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own a single thing!

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_Ally_

After awhile, Dallas and I came down the stairs holding hands. It was almost like we were teenagers in puppy love.

We were both thoroughly enjoying finally living together. I told Dallas what we looked like, and we were both laughing as we rounded the corner into the kitchen.

The second thing I'd noticed about this house, right after taking in the small size of it, was how sparse on decorations it was. It was clearly evident that it was simply a place to sleep at night. A guy's pad. I was definitely going to have to do some shopping soon. It was just way too barren for any girl to leave alone for long, even me.

The kitchen was pretty decently sized, considering. The far wall had a long counter ending in a refrigerator. The opposite wall was half the length with a stove and microwave above it, and on the left of the stove, another short counter with a coffee pot full of freshly brewed coffee, the smell emanating from it making my mouth water. The back portion of the room had a moderately sized table with four chairs and a large window that overlooked the postage-stamp backyard.

The space in-between the short wall and the windowed-wall opened up to the living room and Austin was walking through it. He was holding the morning paper and reading the folded front page. He was already dressed for the day in shorts and a short-sleeve tee, his hair still messy, but more orderly than earlier... perfect. Even though Austin was simply dressed, I felt suddenly very plain in my basic jeans and t-shirt. I tightened my hand in Dallas' and dealt with it though.

"Hey, man." Dallas smiled and went over to Austin, who looked up at his voice.

"Hey, glad you guys made it!" Austin smiled back and clasped Dallas's shoulder in a quick hug. I smiled slightly too. Guys could be so cute.

With a warm smile in my direction, Dallas said, "You already met Ally, I hear." My smile left me at the memory.

"Yes." Austin's eyes sparkled...a little too mischievously. "But, nice to see you again." At least he was being polite about it. Still smiling, Austin walked over to the fresh pot and grabbed some mugs from the cupboard above it. "Coffee?"

"Not for me, no. I don't see how you guys can drink that stuff," Dallas said, making a disgusted face. "Ally loves it though." I nodded in agreement and smiled up at Dallas. He didn't even like the smell of coffee. He was more of a tea-guy, which I found completely amusing and adorable.

Dallas looked down at me. "Hungry? I think there is still some food in the car."

"Starving." I bit my lip and looked at his beautiful face for a second, then kissed him lightly and playfully smacked him in the stomach. Yeah, we were definitely teenagers in love again.

He gave me a brief peck and then turned to leave. As he moved away, I noticed Austin behind him, watching us with an amused expression on his face. "Okay, be right back." Dallas left the kitchen and I heard him grab his keys from the entryway table, where he'd tossed them last night. The door closed a second later and I marveled at how he wasn't even fazed that he was only wearing the t-shirt and boxers he had slept in.

Smiling, I went to the table to sit and wait for him. Austin came over a few moments later with two cups of coffee. I made a move to stand up and put cream and sugar in mine, but looking at the coffee more closely, I could see that he already had. How did he know that I liked it that way?

Noticing my puzzled expression, he said, "I brought mine black. I can switch you, if you don't like cream?"

"No, actually I do like it this way." I smiled at him as he sat down. "I thought maybe you could read minds or something."

"I wish," he chuckled, taking a sip of his black coffee.

"Well, thank you." I raised my cup a little and took a sip...heaven.

Austin looked across the table at me, his head tilted. "So, Ohio huh? Buckeyes and fireflies right?"

I smiled and mentally rolled my eyes at his limited knowledge of my home State. I didn't press him though. "Yep, that's about it."

He looked at me quizzically. "Do you miss it?"

I paused for a moment before answering him. "Well, I miss my parents and my sister, of course." I paused again and sighed a little. "But I don't know...a place is just a place. Besides, it's not like I won't ever see it again," I finished, smiling.

He frowned slightly at me. "Don't take this the wrong way, but why did you come all the way out here?"

I was a little annoyed at the question, but I tried to ignore it. I didn't know Austin well enough to judge him. "Dallas," I stated, as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Huh." He didn't elaborate, just sipped his coffee.

Needing to switch subjects, I blurted out the first thing that popped into my head. "Why do you sing like that?" I instantly regretted saying it, realizing how horribly offensive it must sound. I didn't intend it that way. I was just curious why he was so...flirtatious on stage.

His blue eyes narrowed at me. "What do you mean?" he slowly asked. I got the feeling that his singing was something people usually didn't question him about. I couldn't tell if he was angry, but I didn't want to steer him that way. This was not how to make a good impression on the person I now shared a home with.

Pausing for time, I took a slow sip of coffee. Knowing I would have to explain my horribly embarrassing question, I started blushing slightly. "You were great," I started, hoping to mollify him. "But sometimes you were just so..." I cringed mentally, but knew I needed to just be a grown-up and say it, "...sexual," I whispered.

His expression softened and then he laughed for what felt like five minutes.

Irritation flared in me full force. I wasn't trying to be funny and I was getting really embarrassed, not to mention uncomfortable. Why did I have to open my big mouth? I stared down into my coffee cup, wanting to crawl inside it and disappear.

He finally noticed my expression had changed and worked at regaining his composure. "Sorry...It's just, that's not what I thought you were going to say." I wondered for a moment what he had expected me to say and looked back up at him. Still slightly chuckling, he thought for a moment. "I don't know. People just tend to respond to it." He shrugged his shoulders.

By "people," I inferred that he meant women.

"Did I offend you?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye.

Great, now he thought I was this prudish person who couldn't handle him. "Nooo." I overly stressed the word and glared at him a little. "It just seemed excessive. Besides, you don't need it...your songs are great."

He seemed a little taken aback by that. He sat back in his chair and watched me in a way that was making my heart beat quicker. Seriously, he was just absurdly good-looking. I looked down at the table uncomfortably.

"Thank you. I'll try to keep that in mind." I looked back up at him again. He was smiling softly at me and he did seem to genuinely mean it. Changing topics, he asked me, "How did you and Dallas meet?"

I smiled as I remembered it. "College. He was a T.A. in one of my classes. It was my first year, his third. I thought he was the most beautiful person I had ever seen." I blushed a little bit over calling him beautiful out loud, and, to a guy. I generally tried to not use that word in everyday conversation. People tended to look at me funny. Austin was just smiling peacefully at me however. I suppose he was used to hearing a wide variety of glowing adjectives.

"Anyway, we just hit it off and have been together ever since." I couldn't help but smile at the flood of memories we had together. "What about you? How did you meet Dallas?" I knew the basics of the story, but not much more.

He thought a moment, a smile on his lips that matched mine. "Well, my parents thought it would be good idea to host an exchange student. I think their friends were impressed with that..." His smile faded a bit before instantly returning. "But, Dallas and I hit it off right away too. He's a cool guy."

He turned his face away and a look passed over him that I couldn't comprehend...almost grief. "I owe him a lot," he said softly. He turned back to me, his charming grin back in place, and shrugged. "Anyway, I'd do anything for the guy, so when he called and said he needed a place to stay, it was the least I could do."

"Oh." I was curious about his sudden sadness, but he seemed back to normal now and I didn't want to press him. Anyway, Dallas came back into the kitchen at that point.

He looked very apologetic. "Sorry, all I could find were these." He held up a bag of Cheetos and a bag of pretzels.

Austin laughed softly while I held my hand out and gave Dallas a sweet smile. "Cheetos, please." Dallas frowned, but gave them to me and Austin laughed harder.

We finished our "nutritious" breakfast and then I called my parents (collect, no less) to let them know we were here and we were safe. Dallas and Austin caught up on their years apart while I chatted with my family. The only phone in the house was an olive-green, corded, seventies-looking contraption in the kitchen, and Dallas and Austin's stories were getting louder and funnier as they sat at the table and reminisced. I had to glare over at them a couple of times, non-verbally asking them to be quiet so I could hear my parents. Of course, they thought that was hilarious, and it only seemed to make them laugh even louder, so eventually, I turned my back on them and ignored their happy conversation. It wasn't as if my mom and dad were saying anything other than, "Ready to come home now?" anyway.

After my too-long conversation, Dallas and I headed back upstairs. He quickly showered while I rummaged through his bag for some clothes. Choosing his favorite, faded blue jeans and a light beige Henley shirt for him, I started setting out the rest of our things on the bed.

The person who had rented this room before us had been kind enough, that they had left the bed (sheets and all), a dresser, a small television and a nightstand, complete with an alarm clock. I wasn't sure why, but I was extremely grateful, since Dallas and I had absolutely no furniture. In Athens, we had lived with our relatives to save on cash. I had tried on numerous occasions to get Dallas into an apartment of our own, but, ever the money-savvy one, he hadn't seen the logic in wasting all that cash when our families were only a few minutes from school. In my head, I had a very long list of reasons why...most involving a bed, sheets and all.

And of course my parents, although they adored him, weren't keen on him moving into my bedroom. They hadn't even been okay with me moving into his Aunt's place, and since they were paying for my pricey education, I hadn't pressed the issue too far. But now we sort of had to live together to save on money, so I guess, in the end, I had won the argument. I smiled at that thought as I began putting our clothes into the small, double dresser - his on one side, mine on the other. We didn't have a whole lot of clothes, and I was done by the time Dallas came back from his shower.

Seeing him wrapped only in a towel, pleased me greatly, and I sat on the bed with my arms around my legs, head resting on my knees, to watch him get dressed. He laughed at my rapt attention, but was comfortable enough that he had no problems dropping his towel and dressing. I would have made him turn around, or close his eyes or something, if our roles had been reversed.

Once finished, he sat on the bed beside me. I couldn't resist running my fingers through his damp hair, rustling it around a little bit, and styling chunky pieces. He waited patiently, a warm glow in his eyes, a soft smile on his lips.

When it appeared that I was contently finished, he kissed me on the forehead and we made our way back downstairs to get the rest of our boxes from the car. It only took two trips - we really didn't have a whole lot of stuff. We were however, apparently completely out of food. We put the boxes on our bed and decided to brave our way through the city streets in a quest for sustenance. Dallas had lived here for an entire year, but that had been several years ago, and he hadn't been driving then, so we got some directions from Austin and made our attempt.

We easily made our way down to the pier and Pike Place market to look around and get some fresh food. It truly was a beautiful city. We strolled hand in hand down the pier, watching the sunlight sparkle off the Sound. It was a warm, clear day and we stopped and watched the ferries shuttle back and forth, and the seagulls fly low over the water, like us, also scrounging for food. A light, cool breeze brought the smell of salt water with it and I leaned my head back on Dallas' chest as he wrapped his arms around me, perfectly content.

"Happy?" he asked me, rubbing his jaw along my neck, the light hair along it making me giggle.

"Deliriously," I answered, turning my head to give him a soft kiss.

We did all the touristy things in the area - went through all the quaint shops, listened to the street musicians, sat on a cute little merry-go-round, and watched the fish mongers chuck huge salmon to each other while the packed crowd cheered. Eventually we picked up some fresh fruits, vegetables, and other edibles, and made our way back to the car.

One unfortunate thing about Miami, that was quickly apparent to us on the drive home, was the roller-coaster steep hills, and trying to drive a stick shift on them. By the third near accidental rear-ending, we were both laughing so hard that I couldn't stop the tears. Only getting lost twice, we eventually made it back home in one piece.

We were still laughing about our little adventure as we walked back into the kitchen, carrying a couple canvas bags of groceries. Austin looked up at us from where he was sitting at the table, writing notes on a spiral pad of paper. Lyrics maybe? He gave us an amused grin and went back to his work.

Dallas put our food away, while I began sorting through our few boxes of stuff upstairs. It went pretty quickly. Knowing we weren't moving into a huge place, we had only brought the essentials with us, leaving the majority of the stuff that a person accumulates over any given period of time, in my mom's attic. It didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would, before I had put away all of our books, Dallas' work clothes, my school stuff, and a few pictures and other mementoes. I finished up by putting our toiletries in the bathroom; our dollar store shampoo next to Austin's expensive stuff, making me smile. Then, I was done.

Heading back downstairs, I turned into the living room to find Austin and Dallas watching ESPN. The space was as barely decorated as the rest of the house; I really was going to have to do something about that soon. It pretty much consisted of a large TV against the back wall, next to a slider that led out to the backyard. A long, ratty looking couch took up the far wall, with a seemingly comfy looking chair kitty-corner to it, and a round table with an old lamp on it, was tucked between the two. Austin appeared to live as simply as he dressed.

Dallas was sprawled across the long couch, looking like he may fall asleep at any moment; he probably was still dreadfully tired. I was beginning to feel the long trip (combined with walking around the pier all afternoon) catch up with me as well, so I walked over to Dallas and crawled on top of him. He shifted so I could sink in-between him and the couch, my leg over his, my arm across his chest and my head nestled in his shoulder. He sighed contently and pulled me tight, kissing my head softly. His heartbeat was slow and steady, and was gently pulling me into sleep. Before I closed my eyes, I glanced over at Austin who was sitting in the chair. He seemed to be watching us curiously. I could do no more than wonder about it, before my eyes slipped closed and sleep washed over me.

I woke up awhile later when Dallas shifted beneath me. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," he said, his accent warm and delightful around the words.

Stretching luxuriously, I yawned and pushed myself up a little, to look at his face. "It's okay," I mumbled, kissing him lightly. "I suppose I should wake up anyway, if I ever want to sleep tonight." I looked around but we were alone in the room.

Alone.

The thought made me instantly aware of how close Dallas and I were snuggling on the couch. Grinning mischievously, I kissed him again, but harder. He laughed a little, but kissed me back eagerly. It didn't take long for my breath to quicken, my heart following. Desire filled me for this warm, beautiful man beneath me, and I ran my fingers down his chest and slipped them under his shirt, to feel his smooth skin.

He reacted by gripping my hips with his strong hands and shifting me over, until I was more directly on top of him. I sighed happily and pressed into him. Somewhere in the corner of my mind, I registered a door closing, but Dallas' hands pulling me even harder against him, quickly drove any other thought from my head.

I was happily kissing his jaw and moving to his neck, when a faint, amused chuckle woke me from my reveling. I sat bolt upright on Dallas' lap, causing him to grunt in surprise. I hadn't realized Austin was still here, and I was pretty sure the color on my cheeks made that painfully obvious to him.

"Sorry." He was laughing a little harder now. He was standing in the entryway, grabbing his jacket from a hook by the front door. "I'll be out of your hair in a minute...if you want to wait." He seemed to ponder that for a moment. "Or don't. It really doesn't bother me." He shrugged, still chuckling.

It bothered me. I immediately flew to the other side of the couch, too embarrassed to say anything. I looked over at Dallas, hoping he could somehow rewind time a few minutes. He just laid there, an amused smile on his face as well now. Irritation flowed through me - men!

Needing to change the focus somehow, I blurted out, "Where are you going?" It came out more harshly than I meant it, but it was too late to change that.

He blinked at me, a little surprised from the angry outburst. I got the feeling we really could have been having sex on the couch and he wouldn't have cared. Apparently he was very open about that sort of thing. He probably had only meant to tease me, not embarrass me. My irritation cooled slightly.

"Pete's. We've got another gig there tonight."

"Oh." Now that I was paying more attention to anything but my mortification, he did seem dressed differently than this morning - a brilliant red, short-sleeved shirt and perfectly faded blue jeans. He looked freshly washed too, his hair fabulously messy, but still slightly damp. He looked the rock god that I remembered from the night before.

"Do you guys want to go..." he paused, then grinned devilishly, "or stay here?"

I blurted out, more from remembered embarrassment and irritation, than any real desire, "No, we'll go. Sure."

Dallas blinked at me in confusion, and what looked a little like disappointment. "Really?"

Trying to find a way to recover from my unthinking pronouncement, I came up with, "Yeah, they sounded really good last night. I was hoping to hear a little more."

Dallas slowly sat up on the couch. "All right. I'll get my keys."

Austin shook his head at me slightly, an amused grin on his face. "Okay, I'll see you there then."

On the car ride there, I tried to cover my earlier embarrassment by asking Dallas about the odd conversation in the kitchen with Austin. I looked over at him. "Austin seems...nice?" I didn't mean for it to come out like a question, but it kind of did.

He looked across at me "No, he is. You kind of have to get used to him. He can seem like a real figjam, but he's a really great guy."

I raised my eyebrow at his weird Australian slang and smiled, waiting for him to explain. Every once in awhile, he would throw words out at me that I had no idea what they meant. He smiled, knowing what I was waiting for. "Fuck I'm Good, Just Ask Me," he explained.

I blushed a little, thinking I preferred the shortened version, and then laughed. "You never really talked about him before. I hadn't realized you guys were so close." I tried to think back over the few times he had mentioned his friend in Washington, but nothing jumped out in my head.

He looked back to the road and shrugged. "I guess we kind of lost contact when I went back home. I talked with him once or twice when I came back to the States...but we never really kept in touch. Busy, you know."

Puzzled I said, "I got the feeling from him that you were closer. He kind of seems to love you?" I felt a little weird saying that; guys weren't usually so blunt with their feelings. It wasn't as if Austin had been writing him sonnets or anything, it was just a feeling I got from him. His comment of "owing Dallas" and "doing anything for him" - in the guy-verse, that equated love.

Dallas seemed to understand what I was talking about and looked down for a second, a little embarrassed. "It's nothing. I don't know why he makes such a fuss over it. Really, it was no big deal." He looked back to the road, biting his lip.

Insanely curious now, I asked, "What?"

He paused, like he'd rather not tell me, but of course, he eventually did. "Well, you know I lived with him and his parents for a year?"

"Yeah," I said, puzzled as to where he was going with this.

"Well, he and his dad had a...strained relationship, I guess you could say. Anyway, one day his dad took it too far, knocked him around a little. I didn't really think about it, I just wanted it to stop. I guess I kind of stepped in front of him, took a blow for him." He looked over at my reaction for a second, before turning back to his driving.

I stared at him, shocked. I hadn't heard this story before. It sounded exactly like something Dallas would do though. My heart squeezed a little for Austin...

He shook his head, his brow creased. "That seemed to wake his dad up a little. He didn't bother him again while I was there." He lightly shook his head. "I don't know about after though..." Looking over at me, he gave me his goofy grin. "Anyway, Austin just kind of felt...like we were more a family than his real family after that." He laughed and looked back to the road. "I think he's more thrilled that I'm back, than I am."

When we arrived at the bar, Austin was already there, sitting with his three other band mates at a table in the back near the stage. He was sitting on the end, looking relaxed and comfortable, one foot propped on his knee and sipping a beer. To his left, was the longer-haired guy that I remembered as the bassist. Across from him, was the teddy-bear drummer that I'd hoped was our new roommate, and finishing the circle, to the drummer's left, was the last member of the group, the other brown haired guitarist. I was a little surprised that they weren't hidden away somewhere, getting ready to play. But they looked completely confident that they were going to be great, and were simply relaxing with a few beers before going up there.

Two women sitting at the table across from them were openly watching their every move. One was clearly gaping at Austin. She looked drunk enough, and intrigued enough, that I thought at any moment she was going to lunge herself across the aisle and plop right down in his lap. While Austin paid her absolutely no attention, I wasn't sure if he wouldn't mind if she decided to do just that.

Austin attention however was currently being held by the bassist sitting next to him. From the door I couldn't tell what they were talking about, but all of the guys were listening to his story with smiles on their faces.

Dallas noticed them as well and turning to smile at me, he started leading us over to their table. As we got close enough to hear the bassist's words, I decided that coming here was a bad idea, and wished that I had kept my mouth shut and we were warm and comfortable, snuggling on the couch again. Dallas was pulling me steadily forward though, so I glumly followed.

"...this girl, damn, she had the best rack I've ever seen." The bassist paused to make a crude gesture with his hands...as if the guys would need that statement clarified. "And the shortest skirt too. Everybody around us was completely wasted, so I ducked under the table and shoved that skirt as high as it would go. Then I grabbed my beer bottle and stuck..."

Austin smacked him on the chest, noticing Dallas' and my arrival. We stopped at the end of the table before him, Dallas chuckling a little. I was sure I was blushing, and tried to keep my face as smooth as possible.

"Dude...I'm getting to the good part, hold on." The bassist look mildly confused.

"Ethan..." Austin pointed over to me. "My new roommates are here."

He looked up to glance at Dallas and me. "Oh yeah...roommates." He looked over at Austin again. "I miss Kelly, man...she was hot! Seriously, why did you have to tap that? Not that I blame you, but-"

He cut off as Austin smacked him in the chest, even harder. Ignoring the bassist's irritation, Austin pointed up to us. "Guys, this is my friend Dallas and his girlfriend Ally."

I tried to fix my face into a smile. I hadn't known why his old roommate had left, and I was a little shocked and, of course, still a little embarrassed at the crude conversation we'd walked into. Dallas smiled and smoothly said, "Hello." I managed to mumble out a, "Hi."

"Hey." The bassist nodded his chin up in greeting. "Ethan." He eyed me up and down, making me extremely uncomfortable and I squeezed Dallas' hand harder, moving slightly behind him.

His could-be twin across the table from Austin, stuck his hand out in a more polite greeting. "Elliot, Hi."

"The guitarist, right?" Dallas asked him while he shook his hand. "You're really good!"

"Yeah, thanks, man." He seemed genuinely pleased that Dallas had remembered what he played. Ethan however, snorted, and Elliot threw him a look. "Oh, get over it, Ethan."

Ethan shot him a look right back. "All I'm saying, is that you totally messed up that last riff. I rock that song, I should totally play it."

Ignoring what sounded like an on-going argument, the ginger haired guy beside Elliot stood up and extended his hand to us. "Dez, drummer. Nice to meet you."

We shook his hand while Austin stood up. He walked across the aisle to the drunken women. I thought the one who had been gaping at him earlier might pass out at his nearness. He leaned over the back of her chair, brushed aside a lock of her hair and whispered something very closely in her ear. She nodded, flushing slightly, and then he stood, grabbing a couple of empty chairs beside them. The women were giggling like school girls as he walked away.

He set the chairs down for us at the end of the table, with a slight smile on his face. "Here, have a seat."

Feeling odd about that whole exchange, and not entirely comfortable with our new companions, I sat down with a small frown on my face. Austin's smile widened. He seemed to really enjoy it when I was uncomfortable.

Ethan was turning his attention to Dallas as we sat down. "What's your accent...you British?"

Dallas smiled politely at him. "Australian."

Ethan nodded, like he knew that all along. "Ahhhh. Ahoy, mate."

Austin and Dez laughed. Elliot looked over at him like he was the world's biggest idiot. "Dude, he's Australian...not a pirate."

Ethan sniffed haughtily. "Whatever." He took a swig of his beer.

Laughing a little, Dallas asked, "What's the name of your band anyway?"

Ethan chuckled while Austin stated, "D-Bags."

I looked over at him incredulously and then smiled. "Seriously?"

Ethan surprisingly frowned a little. "They made me condense it, the pussies. I wanted the full thing. State it loud, state it proud!" He smacked the table.

Elliot rolled his eyes. "If we ever want to play somewhere bigger than Pete's, then we need a name they can put on the marquee." At least one of them seemed to have goals for a bigger future.

Ethan shot an irritated look over to Elliot, while Austin and Dez chuckled. "Dude, I made t-shirts... "

"No one is stopping you from wearing them," Elliot muttered, rolling his eyes again.

Austin and Dez laughed harder, and even Dallas chuckled a little. I couldn't help but smile at them. "Are you guys brothers?"

Ethan looked at me in horror. "Absolutely not!"

Surprised, I looked back at Elliot and then to him again. They really could have been twins. "Oh, sorry it's just you look so..."

"We're cousins," Elliot explained. "Our dad's are twins, so the resemblance is...unfortunate." He frowned.

Ethan snorted again. "Unfortunate for you...that I'm hotter." The rest of the guys at the table laughed while Elliot rolled his eyes again.

Abruptly, Austin lifted two fingers in the air and nodding his chin up, motioned the fingers down at Dallas and me. I looked across the room to where he was focused. An older woman, who smiled at him oddly, was running the bar at the far end of the long room. She seemed to know exactly what he meant, and handed two beer bottles to a waitress, pointing her in our direction.

I looked back over at Austin, but he was already talking with Dallas about Dallas' new job position. Austin was curious about what an internship in advertising entailed. Having heard the story a million times before, I tuned it out and took a look around the bar.

Pete's was warm and comfortable looking. The floors were oak and worn with years of use. The walls were a pleasant cream and red with nearly every square inch covered with signs of various brands of beers. Dozens of tables, in varying sizes and styles, dotted the wooden floor, crammed packed where they could fit, except for a twenty foot area in front of the stage that took up one of the shorter walls.

The stage was oak as well, the wall behind it painted black, and covered with hanging guitars in different styles and colors. Huge speakers sat on either side of the stage, pointing out towards the crowd. The lights above the stage were currently off and the microphones, guitars, and drums sat on the darkened stage, waiting for their owners.

I looked over to the other side of the large rectangular room while the guys chatted around me. The other short wall was one long bar. The mirror behind the bar was lined with shelves, all filled with every bottle of liquor you could imagine. The bartender was now busy filling drinks for the crowd starting to pour in from the double doors along the front wall. Large windows dotted that wall, letting in the glow of the various neon bar signs.

A pretty, blonde waitress approached, and handed Dallas and me our beers. We thanked her and Austin gave her a friendly nod, which made me curious for a second. The waitress only smiled politely at him however, so I figured they were just friends.

I sipped my beer and watched the waitress walk through some double doors on the other long wall of the bar. I could see steel and movement, and hear the clatter of food being prepared. That must be the kitchen. A large archway, not far from the kitchen doors, led to a decent sized room that appeared to have a couple pool tables in it. Continuing down the rest of the wall, I noticed a hallway close to the stage that receded around a corner, signs above it indicating that restrooms were in that direction.

As I was looking at the hallway, my eyesight came across the two women who had been watching the guys earlier. Dallas and I were now partially blocking their view, sitting on the end of the table as we were. The one who openly wanted Austin did not look happy that I was sitting right next to him. In fact, she looked downright pissed. I quickly turned back around.

I felt someone approaching me from behind then, and for a moment, I worried that the woman was going to try and start something with me. My body involuntarily tensed as I looked over my shoulder. I sighed softly with relief at the sight of an older man approaching our table.

He was dressed nicely, in khaki slacks and a red collared shirt with the name of the bar in the upper corner. He looked to be in his mid-fifties with graying hair and a weathered face. He did not currently look happy at all.

"Guys ready? You're up in five," he sighed heavily.

"You alright, Pete?" Austin asked him, frowning a little.

I blinked. Pete must be the owner of Pete's. How cute.

"No...one of my workers quit over the phone, she's not coming back. I had to have Cassidy pull a double, so we were covered tonight." He glared, rather angrily, at Austin. That made me curious, until I remembered that the ex-roommate, Kelly, had left abruptly because of Austin. Maybe it was a pattern with him?

Austin in turn, glared over at Ethan. He looked a little sheepish and took a long swig of his beer before muttering, "Sorry, Pete."

Pete sighed and shook his head. I guess there were just some risks that Pete was accustomed to involving his entertainment. Surprising myself I said, "I was a waitress. I need to get a job, and working nights would be perfect when school starts."

Pete looked over at me curiously and then back to Austin. Austin smiled and pointed to us with his bottle in turn. "Pete, these are my new roommates, Dallas, Ally."

Pete nodded and looked me over. "You twenty-one?"

I smiled nervously. "Yeah, since May." I wondered briefly what he would do if I said 'no' while sipping on a beer?

He nodded again. "All right. I could use the help soon though. Can you start Monday, six pm?"

I looked over at Dallas, wondering if I should have talked this over with him first. With his internship during the day, nights would be all we had together. He was smiling at me though, and nodded near imperceptibly.

"Yeah, that would be fine. Thank you," I said quietly. And just like that, one full day being in this new city, I had a job.

...

**Reviews are cool.**


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